Husband By Request

“You go, and don’t worry about anything. If you need me to stay over tonight, I can.”

“Thank you,” her aunt murmured again.

Nothing from Olympia.

Dominique saw them out the door, then tiptoed through the apartment to the tiny third bedroom where Ari lay sleeping. He looked like a little dark-haired angel.

She went back to the living room, deciding this would be a good time to do her homework for the next day. There was a small table in the kitchen where she could study.

Along with her textbook was a tape to help with her pronunciation. She put it in the little mini pocket recorder she’d purchased and began imitating the words of the first lesson.

After about forty-five minutes Ari started to cry. She jumped up from the table to warm his bottle in a pan of hot water. When she’d gotten that started, she hurried down the hall, calling out his name so he would be alerted that a stranger was in the house.

At first he cried his heart out when he saw her. But after she’d walked around the apartment with him, patting his back while she sang some songs to him, he settled down. Several times his lower lip quivered, but when she started to feed him his bottle, he took to it and drank noisily.

She put a diaper over her shoulder to burp him. He was a good boy and did everything he was supposed to do. Once he’d digested, she found his little floor gym and took it in the living room so he could play.

He focused for a long time on the toys. Even after a diaper change he kept kicking everything, and got so excited his little fists wound around like a boxer’s.

Oh, he was cute.

“You’re making me hungry for my own baby, Ari. Do you know that?”

Dominique blew on his tummy. It made him smile. He even laughed once.

It hurt her to think about his mother. Olympia had problems. If she didn’t get some professional help to deal with her obsession with Andreas she was going to get worse. Ari shouldn’t have to grow up with a mom that troubled.

She obviously kept a neat, lovely home. The baby looked perfect. Olympia was a beautiful woman. An outsider looking in would see nothing wrong with this picture.

Andreas certainly couldn’t.

He was so used to standing in for her the way a brother would he thought nothing of leaving work to come and help her out. This couldn’t go on. Dominique refused to allow it—otherwise their marriage would be destroyed.

The day wore on, but there was no word from Olympia yet. Dominique warmed another bottle and began feeding it to Ari. While she was burping him she heard the bell ring.

With Ari slumped against her shoulder she walked to the front door and looked through the peephole. Her heart raced at discovering Andreas standing there.

“Who is it?” she called out deliberately.

“Your lord and master.”

“Are you sure? Mine’s supposed to be at work.”

“He got off early.”

“How come?”

“Because he wanted to be with his wife.”

“Well, in that case—”

She opened the door. He swept in and embraced them both. When Ari saw who it was, his precious face beamed and he reached for him.

Dominique did a fake pout. “I’m jealous. Here I’ve tended him all afternoon, and he wants you.”

Andreas kissed his cheeks. “We’re buddies—aren’t we, Ari?”

“I love him. He makes me want a baby of our own so badly I can hardly stand it.”